"Race to the Top" and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Recent Updates

January 11 deadline for SFSF Phase II funds
The application for the final $11.5 billion of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds—all intended for education—is due on January 11. Final requirements and the application were released on November 12.

January 19 deadline for RTTT Phase I application
The race is on! The final requirements and application for RTTT were released in November. The application deadline is January 19 for Phase I and June 1 for Phase 2. States may wait until Phase 2 to apply or apply again if they don’t receive a grant in Phase 1.

February 8 deadline for Title I School Improvement Grants (SIG), a $3.5 billion program separate from Race to the Top, targets persistently low-achieving schools. The final SIG requirements for this program were released on December 3. The deadline for the state to apply for SIG funds is February 8, 2010.

Race to the Top Fund: Proposed regulations published July 29, 2009. NEA’s comments praise the administration’s commitment to improving public education, but express concern about using student test scores to evaluate teachers and overly emphasizing charter schools as a tool for reform. We urge the administration to focus instead on proven, research-based strategies and addressing inequities among school districts — and schools within districts.

Information for the education community

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) — also known as the $787 billion “economic stimulus package” — includes more than $130 billion for U.S. Department of Education programs and billions more for community- and job-related programs administered by other parts of the U.S. government.

How and when will that money be distributed? Can you, your school, or your community get some? What can you do to ensure the money is spent wisely? Find out more below.

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